Thenon-canonical books referenced in the Bible include known, unknown, or otherwise lost non-Biblical cultures' works referenced in the Bible. The Bible, inJudaism, consists of theHebrew Bible;Christianity refers to the Hebrew Bible as theOld Testament, with a canon including theNew Testament. Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible include theBiblical apocrypha andDeuterocanon.
It may also include books of theAnagignoskomena (Deuterocanonical books § In Eastern Orthodoxy) that are accepted in onlyEastern Orthodoxy. For the purposes of this article, "referenced" can mean direct quotations, paraphrases, or allusions, which in some cases are known only because they have been identified as such by ancient writers or the citation of a work or author.
TheBook of Jasher is mentioned in Joshua 10:13[1] and 2 Samuel 1:18[2] and also possibly referenced in theSeptuagint rendition of 1 Kings 8:53.[3] From the context in the Book of Samuel, it is implied that it was a collection of poetry.Several books have claimed to be this lost text, some of which are discounted aspseudepigrapha. Certain members ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints secured the copyright to a particular English translation ofone of these and republished it in 1887 in Salt Lake City.[4]
TheAnnals of King David (also called The Book of the Annals of King David or The Chronicles of King David, which could be a reference to the rest of 1 Chronicles); referenced in 1 Chronicles 27:24.[13]
TheBook of Samuel the Seer (also called Samuel the Seer or The Acts of Samuel the Seer, which could be the same as1 and 2 Samuel); referenced in 1 Chronicles 29:29.[14]
TheBook of Nathan the Prophet (also called Nathan the Prophet, The Acts of Nathan the Prophet or History of Nathan the Prophet); referenced in 1 Chronicles 29:29, and also 2 Chronicles 9:29.[15]
TheBook of Gad the Seer (also called Gad the Seer or The Acts of Gad the Seer); referenced in 1 Chronicles 29:29.
TheProphecy of Ahijah (also called The Prophesy of Ahijah the Shilonite, which may be a reference to 1 Kings 14:2–18); referenced in 2 Chronicles 9:29.
TheActs of Uzziah (also called The Book by the prophet Isaiah); perhaps the same as theBook of Isaiah. Referenced in 2 Chronicles 26:22.[21]
TheVision of Isaiah (also called The Vision of the Prophet Isaiah); may be identical to the pseudepigraphalAscension of Isaiah, and may also refer to the existing Book of Isaiah. Referenced in 2 Chronicles 32:32.[18]
TheActs of the Kings of Israel (also called The Acts and Prayers of Manasseh);[22] may be identical to The Book of the Kings of Israel. Referenced in 2 Chronicles 33:18.[23]
TheSayings of the Seers (also called The Acts of the Seers); referenced in 2 Chronicles 33:19.[24]
The Chronicles of KingAhasuerus (also called The Book of Records of the Chronicles or The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia); referenced in Esther 2:23,[26] 6:1,[27] 10:2,[28] and Nehemiah 12:23.[29]
"letters of the kings" referenced in 2 Maccabees 2:13[34]
"five books byJason of Cyrene" referenced in 2 Maccabees 2:23:[41] the author of 2 Maccabees here states that their work is abridged from the history by Jason.
"the king's letter" referenced in 2 Maccabees 11:22[42][34]
Book of Jubilees (Matthew 26:52);[62] "For this reason it was ordained on the heavenly tablets; the instrument with which a man kills his neighbor with the same shall he be killed." Not a word for word quote. May have been a common colloquialism. However, Jubilees interprets this as an extension of the law give in Exodus 21:23.[63]
Paul's letter to the Corinthians before1 Corinthians (1 Corinthians 5:9,[71] "I wrote to you in my letter...")
Paul's letter to the Ephesians before Ephesians (Ephesians 3:3,[72] "As I wrote afore in few words..."); this is disputed as many translations of the Greek term προγράφω ("to write before[hand]") interpret it as referring to what has been written earlier in Ephesians itself[73]
An unknown messianic prophecy possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted inMatthew 2:23 that states "he will be called a Nazorian" (ὅτι Ναζωραῖος κληθήσεται). "Nazorian" is typically rendered as "Nazarene" ("fromNazareth"), as in Acts 24:5,[74] where Christians are referred to as "the sect of the Nazorians/Nazarenes" (τῶν Ναζωραίων αἱρέσεως). This is speculated[by whom?] to be a vague allusion to a quote about Samson in Judges 13:5 that uses a similar-sounding word: "the child shall be a Nazirite" (ναζιρ)
An unknown version of Genesis (possibly a targum, midrash or other commentary), quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:45,[75] as a reference to Christ's being "theLast Adam who became a life-giving spirit" (οὕτως καὶ γέγραπται· Ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδὰμ εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν· ὁ ἔσχατος Ἀδὰμ εἰς πνεῦμα ζῳοποιοῦν). It has been speculated[by whom?] that Paul is simply paraphrasing Genesis 2:7,[76] but there is no clear indication that this is not a complete quote.
An unknown text quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:9,[77] suggested by Origen to be a lost apocryphal book:[78] "But as it is written, 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him." This may also be an allusion to the similar Isaiah 64:4,[79] "For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.'".
An unknown messianic prophecy, possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted in Luke 24:46,[80] speculated to be a vague allusion to Hosea 6:2:[81] "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day."
An unknown messianic prophecy, possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted in Mark 9:12,[82] speculated[by whom?] to be a vague allusion toIsaiah 53: "and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought."
^Edward J. Brandt, "The Book of Jasher and the Latter-day Saints," inApocryphal Writings and the Latter-day Saints, ed. C. Wilfred Griggs (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1986), 297–318.
^Rollston, Chris A. (April 2001). "Ben Sira 38:24–39:11 andThe Egyptian Satire of the Trades".Journal of Biblical Literature.120 (Spring):131–139.doi:10.2307/3268597.JSTOR3268597.
